Compared to a few years ago, there is more awareness of environmental and social issues in Japan. Alongside the pandemic also came the opportunity for Japanese society to reassess relationships with nature and the need for sustainability. More and...
Following Day 1’s exploration of the potential of SMEs in shaping a sustainable society, participants learned why businesses should shift towards sustainability. But what are the next steps? The guest speakers, Harumi Komura from UDS Ltd...
In this session, we heard from two guest speakers from Fujimi Mori-no-Office, Yuta Matsuda and Yoshio Tsuda, who not only succeeded in introducing sustainability into the office, but also onboarded users to join in sustainable actions too. Fujimi...
To accelerate sustainable living and assist SMEs in making a shift towards sustainability, Mamoru and Zero Waste Japan co-organized the Sustainabili-Tea Talks from 25~27 May. The talks attracted participants interested in discovering how small...
No doubt tourism took a huge blow from the pandemic. But as we have seen in the past two days, there are opportunities to relook and redefine how businesses can operate in a post-pandemic era, especially for sustainable tourism. When tourists are...
If businesses and government can lead the way, the Japanese are savvy enough to follow suit for sustainable living. However, greenwashing is a major issue in many companies. We need a systemic change to implement sustainability properly...
By the mid-2010s, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimated that “Japanese SMEs accounted for 99.7% of all businesses, employing 34 million individuals” (including micro-enterprises). That number is still high today. Philip...
It can be difficult to imagine a zero waste cafe or restaurant, especially in Japan, where food waste amounts to more than 6 million tons annually. However, two zero waste cafe owners, who have achieved Zero Waste Accreditation from Zero Waste...
A revolution is rising in Sagiura, a quiet village northwards Izumo, Shimane Prefecture. Not of regime change, but one that promises humanity’s recall back into nature. Here, Atsuo Shiga is uncovering the secrets of the Camellia, also known as...
“How can SMEs be sustainable?” There is no better time for Japan to ask this question. More than 80% of registered businesses in Japan are SMEs. With the COVID-19 crisis impacting the nation, vulnerabilities in systems are exposed and...